eBay

jvene · ‎10-31-2022

Hi,

I don't sell very many items so I don't have much experience with buyers. I listed an item with a starting bid of $100.00. I recieved an offer from someone for $140.00. I looked up the users info of the offerer and the account was created 4 days ago. They have 4 followers and one review on an item they purchased that says "still waiting"....of course they are still waiting, they only opened the account 4 days ago. Seems to me like they are creating an account and trying to give it some credibility.

So what's the danger in accepting this offer and what's the scam?

Or am I just being paranoid?

ilikehockeyjerseys · ‎10-31-2022

They are offering you $140, because they think that is lower than what it will sell for at auction. It's not an indication that it is a scam. They are trying to get it for a good price. They might be using a new account because they are a reseller. Or, they might be someone who doesn't use eBay often, googled for the remote, and found yours that is at a great price.

If they put in a bid at $140, they probably won't win the auction.

I assume it is the Harmony 650 remote you have listed. Those normally sell for around 200-250. You would be better off listing it as a Buy It Now w/ Best Offer at something like 249.99. Looking at both items listed and sold, the cheapest available new is 259.99 + shipping, and there are nearly 300 sales of this remote over the last 90 days.

My advice would be to remove the auction and list it at 249.99 BIN or Best Offer. Even if you want to sell it less for a quick sale, you can accept a lower offer. Yours will still be the lowest priced one on the market (depending on your shipping costs).

femmefan1946 · ‎10-31-2022

With any offer you can accept, refuse , counteroffer, or ignore.

It's not a good idea to ignore, since the customer could then bid, win, and because they were offended earlier, be difficult about payment, feedback or delivery time. Also, it would be rude.

You can politely refuse. "I would prefer to allow the auction to run its course. Please feel free to enter your Offer as a bid."

You can counter-offer. "Thank you for your offer. I believe the remote will sell for $200 or more and would sell it to you for $200 plus shipping." Remember the "plus shipping" because that is NOT a part of any offer.

Or you can accept the bid if you want fast and are not sure you will do any better as the auction plays out. Remember the "plus shipping" because that is NOT a part of any offer.

Most bids arrived in the last few minutes of the auction.

Mass manufactured items that are in good supply are better sold at Fixed Price , perhaps with Immediate Payment Required, to discourage players.

38e_avenue · ‎10-31-2022

@jvene wrote:
I looked up the users info of the offerer and the account was created 4 days ago.

I doesn't mean anything. I often get offers from buyers registered the same day. They pay, don't communicate, almost never leave feedback. So no, a newly registered account doesn't necessarily mean a scam.

byto253 · ‎11-01-2022

I get these as well. Just pay and no fuss because they see something they can't get somewhere else.

ilikehockeyjerseys · ‎11-01-2022

Newly registered users are usually people who google an item and find it on eBay.

In my experience, the biggest issue with offers from 0 feedback users is that they fail to pay for their items at a higher rate than active users. If they change their mind, they have no stake in their account, so there is no motivation to pay.

While people churning new accounts to scam sellers is a thing, if you're not selling a high-risk item like a PS5 or a cell phone, odds are it won't happen to you.